Filed: Jun. 15, 2020
Latest Update: Sep. 22, 2020
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 20-1050 THEOPHILUS AGEDAH, Petitioner, v. WILLIAM P. BARR, Attorney General, Respondent. On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals. Submitted: May 26, 2020 Decided: June 15, 2020 Before NIEMEYER, MOTZ, and RUSHNG, Circuit Judges. Petition denied by unpublished per curiam opinion. Theophilus Agedah, Petitioner Pro Se. Nicole Joann Thomas-Dorris, Office of Immigration Litigation, Civil Division, UNIT
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 20-1050 THEOPHILUS AGEDAH, Petitioner, v. WILLIAM P. BARR, Attorney General, Respondent. On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals. Submitted: May 26, 2020 Decided: June 15, 2020 Before NIEMEYER, MOTZ, and RUSHNG, Circuit Judges. Petition denied by unpublished per curiam opinion. Theophilus Agedah, Petitioner Pro Se. Nicole Joann Thomas-Dorris, Office of Immigration Litigation, Civil Division, UNITE..
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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 20-1050
THEOPHILUS AGEDAH,
Petitioner,
v.
WILLIAM P. BARR, Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals.
Submitted: May 26, 2020 Decided: June 15, 2020
Before NIEMEYER, MOTZ, and RUSHNG, Circuit Judges.
Petition denied by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Theophilus Agedah, Petitioner Pro Se. Nicole Joann Thomas-Dorris, Office of
Immigration Litigation, Civil Division, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,
Washington, D.C., for Respondent.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Theophilus Agedah, a native and citizen of Nigeria, petitions for review of an order
of the Board of Immigration Appeals (Board) dismissing his appeal from the immigration
judge’s (IJ) decision denying Agedah’s application for withholding of removal and
protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). *
On appeal, Agedah first challenges the agency’s denial of his requests for
withholding of removal and protection under the CAT. We have thoroughly reviewed the
record, including the transcript of Agedah’s merits hearings and all supporting evidence.
We conclude that the record evidence does not compel a ruling contrary to any of the
agency’s factual findings, see 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(4)(B) (2018), and that substantial
evidence supports the Board’s decision, see
Gomis, 571 F.3d at 359; Dankam v. Gonzales,
495 F.3d 113, 124 (4th Cir. 2007). Accordingly, we uphold the denial of relief for the
reasons stated by the Board. In re Agedah, (B.I.A. Dec. 16, 2019).
Additionally, although Agedah seeks remand for the IJ to adjudicate his applications
for cancellation of removal, adjustment of status, and voluntary departure, we find that the
Board correctly determined that Agedah did not adequately pursue these forms of relief
before the IJ. He initially filed an application for cancellation of removal, but counsel
subsequently conceded that Agedah was ineligible because his United States citizen
*
Agedah does not challenge the agency’s finding that his asylum application was
untimely filed. In any event, we would lack jurisdiction to review this finding, absent a
constitutional claim or colorable question of law. See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1158(a)(3),
1252(a)(2)(D) (2018); Gomis v. Holder,
571 F.3d 353, 358-59 (4th Cir. 2009).
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children were all over the age of 21. Additionally, the Board noted that Agedah failed to
explain how he was eligible for adjustment of status. Although he indicates on appeal that
he is seeking adjustment of status based on the battery and extreme cruelty he suffered by
a United States citizen spouse, he failed to raise this claim before the agency. See Cabrera
v. Barr,
930 F.3d 627, 631 (4th Cir. 2019) (“[A]rguments that a petitioner did not raise in
the [Board] proceedings have not been exhausted and the Court lacks jurisdiction to
consider them.”). Finally, the record reveals that Agedah abandoned his application for
voluntary departure by failing to appear at his June 5, 2013, removal hearing.
Accordingly, we deny the petition for review. In light of this disposition, we deny
Agedah’s motion for stay as moot. We also deny his motion for a copy of the DHS brief
filed in his administrative appeal and his motions to vacate the agency’s decisions. We
dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately
presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional
process.
PETITION DENIED
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